Car-coupling.



No. 820,871- PATENTED MAY 15, 1906. J. HOUSHOLDER & J. O. GALBREATH.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 1905.

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JACOB HOUSHOLDER, OF BIG CHIMNEY, AND JOHN C. GALBREATH, OF CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatented May 15, 1906.

Application filed July 24,1905. Serial No. 271,012.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JACOB HOUsI-IOLDER, a resident of Big Chimney, and JOHN C. GAL- BREATH, a resident of Charleston, in the county of Kanawha, State of West Virginia, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupler, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description.

The invention relates to a car-coupler designed especially for use in connection with.

I which drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3 8 of Fig. 2.

1.0 indicates the buffer-beams of the mine cars or wagons or other vehicles to which the coupling may be applied. The coupling comprises male and female sections attached, respectively, to the cars.

The male section of the coupling comprises a body formed of an essentially U -shaped bracket 11, embracing the buffer 10 and fastened thereto by bolts or otherwise. Projecting from the bracket 11 are two lugs 12, between which the coupling-bar 14 is pivoted to swing freely in a vertical plane. The coupling-bar 14 has at its free end an upwardly-projecting stud 15, adapted to lock with the female section of the coupler, as will hereinafter fully appear. The male member is provided with a clevis 16, attached to the pin 17, on which the before-mentioned coupling-bar is also mounted. The clevis is intended to be used when hauling the car by mule-power.

The female section comprises a bracket 18, similar to the bracket 11 and bolted in place on the buffer-beam, as shown. Projecting from the bracket is a socket-piece 19, having an inwardly-facing internal shoulder 20 on its to wall and outwardly-flaring side walls 21, w 1ile the bottom wall is shortened to form an opening 22, as best shown in Fig. 2. Mounted in the socketpiece 19 to rock around a horizontal pin 23 is an elbowshaped latch, the long horizontal arm 24 of which projects forwardly over the opening 22 and the vertical arm 25 of which projects up- Wardly into proximity to the top wall of the socketpiece. The arm 25 has in its upper end a notch 26, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

As shown best in Fig. 3, the top wall of the socket-piece has an opening 27 formed therein, and this opening is spanned by a keyplate 28. This opening receives a bolt 29, which has an opening 30 therein, receiving the key-plate 28. In this way the bolt is mounted to have limited vertical movement in the top of the socket-piece. When the bolt is in its lower position, it engages in the notch 26 of the elbow-shaped latch and holds the latch with its horizontal arm 24 elevated, as shown in Fig. 2, and when the bolt is lifted the latch drops, as indicated by the dotted lines in said view. WVhen the latch is in its first position, its arm 24 holds the coupling-bar 14 raised with its stud. 15 engaged with the shoulder 20, and the sections of the coupling are thus engaged. By lifting the bolt 29 the latch is allowed to drop, and the stud 15 may then disengage the shoulder 20, allowing the coupling-sections to separate.

31 indicates a clevis for the same purpose as the clevis 16. The clevis 31 is mounted on the pin 23, carrying the latch 24 25.

In the use of the invention, assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 2, it is onlynecessary to lift the bolt 29, thus dropping the latch and releasing the coupling-bar, the bolt then. resting on top of the arm 25 of the latch. and the latch remaining in the lower position, (indicated by the broken lines in Fig 2.) To recouple the cars, they should be moved together, the coupling -.bar en.- tering the socket-piece and riding upon the lower or horizontal arm of the latch until the vertical arm of the latch is engaged by the coupling-bar, whereupon the latch is returned to the position shown in Fig. 2, and the coupling-bar is elevated to engage its stud 15 with the shoulder 20 of the socketpiece. At this time the bolt 29 drops and renters the notch 26, engaging the shoulder formed thereby and locking the parts together. Owing to the flaring walls 21 of the socket-piece, the coupling may be effected with equal facility on curves and straight lengths of track and said flaring walls also allowed to swing around curves without interfering with the engagement between the two sections of the coupling.

Having thus described the preferred form of our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A car-coupling comprising a couplingbar having a stud, a socket-piece having an interior shoulder for engaging the stud, posi tively-acting means for engaging the bar and lifting it into engagement with the shoulder, and means whereby the bar may actuate said lifting means.

2. A car-coupling comprising a couplingb'ar having a stud, a socket-piece having an interior shoulder for engaging the stud, means for engaging the bar and lifting it into engagement with the shoulder, means whereby the bar may actuate said lifting means, and means" for locking said lifting means.

3. A car-coupling comprising a couplingbar, a socket-piece, means within the socketpiece for retaining the coupling-bar therein, means for guiding the bar into engagement with said retaining means, means whereby the bar may operate said guiding means, and meansfor locking the guiding means.

4. A car-coupling comprising a couplingbar' and a socket-piece, means on the bar for engaging the socket-piece, positively-acting means-within thesocket for lifting the bar into engagement with said means, and means whereby the bar may operate said lifting means.

5. In a car-coupling, the combination of a coupling-bar having a stud therein, a socketpiece having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by said stud, an essentially elbowshaped latch mounted on the socket-piece and coacting with the couplerbar, and a bolt for removably holding the latch in active position.

6. A car-coupling comprising a couplingbar, a socket-piece having an interior shoulder adapted to be engaged by a part of the coupling-bar, an essentially elbow shaped latch mounted in the socket-piece and coacting with the couplingbar, and a bolt for removably holding the latch in place.

7. In a coupling, the combination of a coupling-bar, a socket-piece adapted to" receive the same, an essentially elbow-shaped latch mounted in the socket-piece, one arm engaging the coupling-bar to hold it in active position, and a bolt movable in the socketpiece and engaging the other arm of the latch removably to hold the same.

8. A car-coupling comprising sections having coacting coupling devices, and clevises attached. respectively to the sections and adapted to permit the connection of a team with the car through the medium of the coupling-section.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB HOUSHOLDER. JOHN C. GALBREATH; Witnesses:

G. W. LEGG, W. W. GRAHAM. 

